Malkangiri: Six persons, including a village head, were arrested on Wednesday for their alleged involvement in the murder of a lover duo in Dhakadapalli village under Maneru panchayat in this district.
Police sources said several others involved in the killing are at large and a manhunt has been launched to nab the absconders.
Notably, bodies of the Koya tribal lover duo were found from Saberi river at Dermapal in neighbouring Chhattisgarh.
Sources said since there cannot be marriage in the same caste in the Koya community, the lover duo had fled the village and gone to Andhra Pradesh. When the incident came to light, the village panchayat put pressure on the families of the boy and the girl to call them back to the village.
After being called by their family members, the lover duo had arrived at the village on November 18 with the hope that the panchayat would resolve their case.
But to their horror, the villagers hacked the duo to death and severely thrashed the family members. Later, they tied the hands and legs of the boy and girl and threw the bodies in Saberi river, the sources added.
The bodies were later traced by some people at Dermapali in neighbouring Chhattisgarh on November 26.